Earn it

Guinea pigging the new tree-gap. Man I had to dewire some neurons, before hitting that shit.

Calculating it.

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Hitting it.

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Landing it.
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Earning it.

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Random shots Part 2/2

Yosemite Valley. Just wow! I had 3 days in the valley, and was blown away, haven't seen such beautiful scenery since British Columbia.
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Jan, near the very tip of the trail gap, he had some difficulties clearing it, and the frustration began to build up. I don't know how much comfort it was, but it told him that we've "all been there before", in some way or another.

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We had a chance to revisit a place we usually only ride at winter. And we brought the big bikes, not because we had to, but because we could. Turned out that the lines worked better when covered in snow.

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Christian improvising a line.

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I replaced my CCDBA, with a 2014 Vivid AIR. It got its fair share of attention earlier this year, when RockShox trolled everyone by saying it was for "pro-use" only, and you actually had to be on their "list" to buy it. But in the end, we all love capitalism, and so does Rockshox = This shock is mine.

So whats cool about it? Well, independent LSR and HSR, and the new Rapid Recovery system, and the Counter Measure technology. The latter is supposed to virtually eliminate break away force, and I have to give it to RockShox, it takes VERY little force to activate it, less than the CCDBA, well, less than any air-system I've been on actually. Impressive. Full preview coming soon.

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There she is. The new tree-gap.

3,6m(11ft) just to clear the tree, then an additional 2,4m (7ft) to hit the transition. Not small numbers considering this is an All Mountain trail. You can just barely make out the trail gap in the background, it functions as a booster to this jump. How much speed does it require? Is the landing ok? Is the ramp angled correctly? Will it kill you? Well, yesterday, all of those questions got answered..Stay tuned.

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Random shots Part 1/2

Lets start of with this interesting bike. Its a bike Henning got to rent, when we visited Winterberg Bikepark in Germany. I had a chance to try it out as well. This is the new Bergamont Straitline, with a Boxxer up front, and a Vivid Air out back. 2 things surprised me; How fun the bike was to ride, and how well the Vivid Air performed. I remember when Bergamont made bikes that resembled something out of DDR...they have definitely stepped up these last few seasons.

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Jan taking a small departure near the trail. What I like about this pic, is that it captures what its all about. Thinking outside the box, playing around, trying out things, learning by success, and by failures. But most important, having fun on two wheels. Stay foolish. stay hungry - right?

Oh btw, what I originally wanted to write here was: "Jan does a table".....ged ittt???

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Coming in from lower right corner.

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Testing a line. Unfortunately it wasn't up to standards, and its already in the process of "un-installation". Its all about keeping the bar high, and not settling with something that's just "ok".

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Summer, the best thing since sliced bread.

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Status of my Cane Creek Double Barrel Air - and why I wont review it.

It all started so good. An amazing performance, a massive amount of adjustments, and an unquestionable positive reputation. Cane Creek Double Barrel Air - whats not to like?

Then the problems began.

The first fail came after less than 2 months of riding, the LS-rebound stopped working, and the compression was odd. "A freak fail"- I thought to myself. The shock got sent back to TF-tuned, and they fixed it - "emulsified oil" - was the initial TF-Tuned conclusion. 

The second fail came a month later. The shock made a loud *POP* sound during a session, and all of the sudden, all rebound was gone. FACEPALM. Back to TF-tuned with the shock. No theory was given this time. Got the shock back.

Third fail came after a month of additional use. LS-compression was off, and the shock made a *clunk*-sound 30% into its travel when in use. 2 things to say about that fail; I was no longer surprised. Secondly, enough was enough, the Double Barrel Air had to go. I want my gear to function - just like you do.

I contacted TF-Tuned, and told them that I wanted a refund. The TF-tuned guys are awesome, a full refund was given, and they even offered me a Ti-coil version of the CCDB in exchange. They got in touch with Cane Creek about the issues I have ran into. Cane Creek didn't have any theory, nor did TF-Tuned, as to why my shock kept failing. I checked my frame for any misalignment - there was none. I didn't have this problem with the other shocks I had. This leaves me clueless as to why this shock kept failing. 

I did some research on the internetzz, and no-one has had the same issues as I. Pretty much every user talks about reliability - a completely different story than I can present.

So I decided not to review this shock (it would be torn to pieces, due to the reliability issues anyway). I'm under the impression that I got some freak-issue-monday-version, or something like that, and I don't want to pass a review-judgement on that premise. This is where it ends for me and the CCDBA. 

Oh... a new high-tech shock is already installed btw... stick around... ; )

Mexican Monkey

Random high-speed footage.

53sec. Simple edit. 240fps.

The 300th post, and 44.000 visits in a single year. Thanks!

44.000. Whoa, I'm not even sure I really understand that number. But thanks, makes it all worthwhile!

To wrap this post up, I attach a completely unrelated picture of my hero, Bill Maher. Thanks all.

"If you think you have it tough, read history books." -Bill Maher

Gear update

Ok, back from NorCal, lets get to it;

2 POC products, and a new fork - whats not to like?

First POC product is the Bone VPD Leg. I have been grinding through alot of leg armor during my mtb years, and been disappointed by every single full-leg armor I've worn, hell, I even made an open whine about it here on this blog. That is until I got the POC Bone VPD Leg late last year. Its solid, has decent ventilation, straps are well placed, but the best part is...

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...a knee-hinge system. Finally someone gets it! The upper knee is a thick VPD shell (Polymer dough) that moves independently of the lower leg. This allows for more movement, without the usual drawbacks of a full leg-armor, like pad movement. I have been combining the Bone VPD Leg with the POC Joint Ankle - with very good results, definately a recommended setup. So anyway, Ive illustrated were the VPD knee-shell is, below:

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Got a front-end setup change. The 2013 RockShox LyrikDH. Lyrik on the outside, Boxxer on the inside. So far its been performing better than expected, taking small and big hits with ease, and an actual mid-travel performance (YAY!). The low-speed compression keeps the fork dead-stable on climbs, and the high-speed compression allows me to manipulate the end-travel-curve as I see fit. It has a build-in high-speed rebound damper as well, but I dont notice it to be honest, it just feels right. I need to do some more testing tho', before wrapping it all up in a potential review. Weight is identical to a FOX 36 btw.
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Not the cheapest choice, but hopefully one of the smartest. Let it be said right away, from what Ive experienced so far, the POC VPD2 Knee delivers! Surprisingly good overall protection, with good knee coverage (side of the knee included), and a snug fit. The top and bottom has a rubber band stitched into it to make "stick" to the leg. Only disadvantage so far, is that it gets more hot than I expected on warm days. I was actually planning to get the Leatt Knee Guard 3DF, but after trying one out, I wondered what Leatt has been smoking when designing their knee guard; no side protection! Anyway, expect a big comparison review soon (FOX vs 661 vs Scott vs POC).

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Whilst not featuring a hinge system like the POC VPD Bone Leg, it is however divided into 2 separate sections. The lower section (blue) covers the knee in the front and sides, and a bit of the shin as well. The top (green), covers the top knee, to the lower thigh. This system allows the pad to move WITH the leg, and not ON the leg. Clever design choice POC, very clever.

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Lyrik + POC VPD2 Knee in action.

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